Aditya Birla set to launch online fashion store

The Aditya Birla
Group is preparing to launch its online fashion store abof.com that will
compete with the likes of Myntra and Jabong, the Mint reported.

The Aditya Birla
Group is preparing to launch its online fashion store abof.com that will
compete with the likes of Myntra and Jabong, the Mint reported.

Run by Aditya Birla
Online Fashion, abof.com is the group’s independent fashion e-commerce business
currently being piloted in more than 10-15 cities, according to sources familiar
with the development.

The portal is
expected to go live within the next 30 days and its progress is being closely
watched by the group’s head Kumar Mangalam Birla, said one of the sources.

Abof.com, which is
currently in beta stage, lists Aditya Birla’s private label under the brand
name abof, and several fashion brands, including Vero Moda, ONLY, United Colors
of Benetton (UCB) and NINETEEN.

The company is also
looking at bringing in some exclusive foreign online retailers in India.

“The company plans to
be far more exclusive than a Jabong or a Myntra by focusing on the top 100
labels and brands. They will focus more on the curated options and sell
products driven by content and suggestive buying,” one of the sources said.

The new venture is
being led by Prashant Gupta, president and chief executive of Aditya Birla
Group’s e-retailing business, along with senior executive Kedar Apshankar and
Vikram Bhat, chief product officer who joined the firm from Myntra about a year
ago.

“At Aditya Birla
Group, I am incubating and building up a portfolio of e-tailing businesses,”
Gupta says in his Linkedin bio.

The move comes even
as Aditya Birla Group is strengthening its presence across India’s $6-billion
online retailing market that is seeing interest from the country’s top
conglomerates.

Last month, the firm,
through its private equity arm, Aditya Birla Private Equity, had picked up a
minority stake in Mumbai-based Creative Lifestyles, a women’s apparel retailer.